Promise Me
by EMOSAURUS
Summary: NOT CRAIGMANNY! Craig makes a promise to Manny, but their conversation might get him in trouble with Ashley.
1. The Promise

Promise Me

Summary: NOT Craig/Manny. Craig makes a promise to Manny.

"Craig!" called a voice from behind Craig Manning. "Craig!" Craig turned around to find Manuella Santos. Most people just called her Manny. "Manny," Craig said quietly. "Uh… yeah?" Manny dragged Craig off into a corner.

"Craig," she began. "I know things haven't been the best between us. But—"

"Manny, if this is about—" Craig began.

"Craig, I need to talk to you. Meet me after class, okay? It's really important," Manny said urgently.

"Can't we talk…now?" Craig asked.

"No, there's not enough time. Meet me after class," she said again.

"Okay, Manny. See you after class," Craig said, before going to MI. He thought the entire class time what Manny wanted to talk to him about.

After class, Craig jogged over to where he was supposed to meet Manny. About thirty seconds later, Manny came up. "Sorry I took so long, I was trying to get something sorted out with Emma, and she wouldn't shut up, so… anyway, Craig, what I needed to tell you was that… Okay, I know a couple years ago, what we did… we shouldn't have done it."

"Manny, it's okay. Whatever you're about to say, I'm sorry," Craig said quickly.

"No, Craig. It's not your turn for apologies. It's mine," Manny interjected.

"Okay," Craig said defensively.

"The way you treated me…I don't want to feel like that ever again, okay? And it felt so bad… I wouldn't want anyone to feel like that, ever."

"Okay…" Craig said coolly.

"So, I need you to promise me something. Okay?" Manny said, looking up at Craig.

"I don't care who it is. Whether it's Ashley, Paige, or anyone, never do to them what you did to me."

"In what sense?" Craig asked, confused.

"Never use them to cheat on your girlfriend. It's cruel and it hurts. I felt used, and so would they. Never do it, Craig. Please. Promise me you'll never do what you did to me," Manny touched Craig's arm lightly.

Craig looked down at her. "I promise."

Manny sighed. "I'm gonna be so late for class," she said, turning to leave.

"Manny, wait," Craig said quickly. "I didn't get to say my apologies yet."

Manny turned around. "Okay," she said quietly. "Say your apologies."

"Okay, Manny," he began. "I know what I did to you was wrong. And… maybe in the beginning, it felt right, and I think maybe I was planning on breaking up with Ashley, but… in the end, it felt wrong and I still feel bad about it. But you have to believe me… I never meant for you to get hurt. But you did, and I'm sorry. For everything. But you do mean something to me, Manny. Just not in the same way as Ashley does. I was kind of hoping that maybe if you give me a chance, we can be friends. I always have these weird thoughts about you and they make me feel sick. Not because you're ugly, I mean, I think you're pretty, but I just… there's not a… feeling of extreme happiness I feel around you, and every time we pass each other, I can look at you and start feeling guilty and wrong. But I promise you, Manny; I will never do to another what I've done to you. I'm so sorry you got hurt. But maybe if you forgive me, I won't feel any different when I walk past you or see you. I want there to be peace between us. I hate feeling bad every time I think about you. I want to feel good when I think about you, and… not guilty. Okay?"

Craig looked into Manny's eyes as he said everything.

Slowly but surely, tears formed in her eyes as she remembered everything she'd gone through.

"And," Craig added, "you have to understand. You're not the only one who got hurt."

"Craig?" Manny said.

"Yeah?" Craig said calmly, leaning against a locker.

"I don't have any feelings for you… like that. But I think I need a hug right now," she said, several tears streaming down her face. Craig looked at her, and hugged her. It irritated his back because she was somewhat short. A few minutes later, Manny said, "I'd better get to class. You, too."

"Yeah, I'm going to be dead by the end of the day if I have another meeting like this with anyone else," Craig said, before heading in the opposite direction.

"Bye, Craig," Manny said, turning the corner.

"Bye, Manny," Craig called back, hoping that Manny would hear him.

He didn't like her like that anymore, but he still wanted to be friends with her.

As he got into class, Ashley got up and stood in front of him with her arms crossed.

"How's Manny?" she said coldly.

A/N: Mmmmkay. This is Chapter one of 2. Chapter 2 will be longer. Mmmmkay? R&R.


	2. Together Again

Promise Me

Summary: NOT Craig/Manny. Craig makes a promise to Manny.

Craig stared at Ashley, speechless. "Don't play stupid, Craig. Everyone saw you talking to her. What were you planning?" Ashley tilted her head, expecting an answer, fast. "We—we—we weren't p-planning anything," Craig stammered.

"Yeah, sure, Craig. I thought you'd changed. Damn, how wrong I was," she said. She slapped him hard across the face and then turned, walking back to her friends. She sat down and sighed. Craig felt bad for Ashley thinking that, and felt worse because of the large red mark that Ashley had just made on the left side of his face, but Manny was just trying to protect everyone else. Manny was thinking for the best.

After class, Craig ran up to Ashley, and said, "Ash! Come on! You don't even know what we were talking about."

"What were you talking about, Craig? Enlighten me." Ashley folded her arms across her chest.

"Okay, before school started, Manny said she needed to talk to me. So after class, I went and talked to her, but it took longer than we would've thought. That's why I was late."

"I don't see how any of this pertains to my question, Manning," Ashley said, irritated.

"Right, right. Manny made me promise not to do what I did to her to anyone else."

"Yeah, right, Craig. I'm supposed to believe you because…? You cheated on me with Manny. I'm not going to believe anything you say that goes on between you two."

"But, Ash---" Craig started. Ashley whipped around and stared into Craig's eyes.

"Save it, Craig," she said loudly. "It's over." She walked away quickly, and Craig watched as she left. He couldn't believe what she'd just said. He'd just tried to save them with Manny's help, and Ashley refused it and thought he was still cheating on her. After what happened when Manny got pregnant, he'd be a one-woman man for the rest of his life.

Not to mention the fact that he loved Ash and he wouldn't cheat on her ever again because cheating was the biggest mistake of his life. He felt bad for what he did to Manny, and bad for cheating on Ashley, but she wasn't going to forgive him for talking to Manny anytime soon.

He was sickened by the fact that Ashley would think he was cheating on her again. He sighed heavily before walking outside and sitting on the steps. The bell rang, but Craig sat there in thought. He couldn't stop thinking about how he was supposed to explain something to Ashley when she wouldn't believe him.

At lunch, he didn't eat because a, he was all by himself because all his friends thought he was cheating on Ashley again, and b, he almost vomited at the thought of food when he was this upset.

He glanced over at his friends where he usually sat, and they all looked at him for a second before turning back and talking to each other. Craig shook his head in dismay and stood up and walked out of the cafeteria. He sat in the empty hallway. He buried his head in his hands and sighed. 'Why me?' he thought to himself. He wondered why Ash always had to be so stubborn. She'd never believe anything he said about him and Manny.

The bell rang once more. He felt a hand on his shoulder and he looked up. Lo and behold, it was none other than Manny. "She thinks you're cheating on her, doesn't she?" Manny said calmly.

Craig stood up. "Yeah, she does. And she slapped me." he said. Craig looked down at Manny.

"Things between us aren't the same anymore. I don't want to be with you, Craig. And you don't want to be with me. You want to be with her, and I want to be with Spinner. She wants to be with you and Spinner wants to be with… everyone, particularly me. You have to tell her that."

"I can't," Craig said. "She won't talk to me or believe me."

Manny sighed. "She's going to spread rumors through the entire school and I could lose Spinner forever. I don't think so," she said. Manny stormed up to Ashley and slammed her locker in her face. "What is it with you?" she demanded.

"What is it with me? You're trying to steal my boyfriend," Ashley nearly shouted.

"Newsflash, Kerwin! I don't WANT your boyfriend, whom, I might add, you treat like crap because he and I talked."

"Talked? I hardly believe that you two just 'talked'."

"Believe what you want! I don't Craig! He wants you and I want Spinner! So stay the hell out of his face and stop treating him like crap all the time!" Manny shouted.

"I do NOT treat him like crap, Manny! I treat him with common respect!"

"Common respect? Is THIS common respect?" Manny screamed. Suddenly, she slapped Ashley across the face. "Next time you talk to him, treat him with common decency. And just to tell you, he deserves a lot better after all you've put him through, and that's been a lot worse than what he's put you through." Manny was about to turn around and leave when Ashley slapped her quickly across the face.

Manny stared back at her. "Bring it on," she said quietly.

She kicked Ashley in the knee, making her fall to the floor. She waited for her to get up. But, Ashley grabbed Manny's leg and pulled her to the floor, making her hit a locker on the way down. Manny grabbed her head. She took her hat off and threw it across the floor.

Ashley pulled Manny's hair, making her head tilt to the side, and she didn't let go until Manny slapped her twice on both sides of her face. Ashley was in shock for a second, but then shoved Manny into a locker. She slammed her head into it several times. Craig stood up and pulled the two apart.

He held Ashley by the shoulders and he didn't have to restrain Manny because she just wanted it to be over. Craig looked at Manny. "Go to the nurse and get ice for your head," he said firmly. Manny nodded and ran to the nurse's room.

He turned to Ashley. "What the hell's your problem?" he demanded. Ashley stared at him.

"Oh, I'm the one with the problem now, am I? I'm not the one who cheats on his girlfriend!"

"You KNOW I'd never do that again! And you just assume that I'm going to make this ALL up! About me and Manny talking about how she felt when I did that, how she didn't want me to be going out with someone else and then going out with you so I can cheat on her. She doesn't want me to hurt you, Ash. Not the way I hurt her. But you, you just can't accept that maybe Manny wants to help you for once. Just once. And you still won't accept it. Fine. Then I don't want to be with you either." And with that, Craig ran out the doors. He knew that Joey was going to get mad that he'd skipped about three classes.

He ran all the way home, ran up to his room, laid on his bed, and felt like the world was over. He didn't want anyone else, especially not Manny. He liked her, but as a friend, not anything more. He wanted Ashley. He'd wanted her since he met her. And for once, she didn't want him, wouldn't believe him, and she'd actually managed to break his heart for the second time in six months.

He fell asleep about an hour later. He slept until around six, after Joey got home. He got up and went downstairs. Joey looked up at him. "You skipped classes again," he stated.

"Joey, I had a really bad day at school today, okay? I really don't want to talk about it," Craig muttered.

"Well, that's great for you, Craig. And I hope you have fun at Saturday detention, too."

"What?"

"Yes, Craig. Saturday detention."

"Dammit. This is all Ashley's fault."

"Ashley didn't make you leave school, Craig."

"Yes she did. It's ALL her fault. If she hadn't spread rumors that I was cheating on her with Manny AGAIN, Manny wouldn't have gotten so pissed off and gotten in a fight with her, and I wouldn't have gotten so outcast by people who are supposed to be my friends and left."

"So… this is actually your fault," Joey said.

"No, why would you say that?"

"If you hadn't cheated on Ashley in the first place, then she wouldn't have this problem with Manny and be suspecting that you're cheating on her again and you wouldn't have left."

"I have to go," Craig said. "Now."

Craig walked towards the door and opened it. He immediately stepped back when he saw Ashley standing in front of him.  
"Can I help you?" Craig said angrily. Ashley stepped back and Craig stepped forward, shutting the door behind him.

"Craig, what happened today... I'm sorry. I never should have said that stuff about you and Manny."

"Ash, what I don't get is why you don't trust me anymore. I got beaten up and robbed for you. I apologized to you in front of almost the entire school. And you still don't trust me."

"Craig, I try so hard to trust you. I believe almost everything you say. But every time you're with Manny, I lose the trust. It's all gone. I want you to tell me what she really said."

"Ashley, I already told you. She said to never do what I did to her to you or anyone else."

"Did she really say that?" Ashley asked, staring into Craig's eyes.

"Yeah, she did," Craig said. "She wants to protect everyone else from getting hurt like that. I'm just sorry I had to hurt her and make her go through that just to figure that out.

"Ash, I don't want to hurt you. Manny doesn't want me to hurt you. And I won't. I promise." Ashley looked up at Craig and hugged him.

"Craig, please say you'll never cheat on me again," Ashley whispered.

"I promise I won't," Craig said quietly.

The two hugged and Craig led her to the garage. Ashley laid down on the couch and the two began kissing. Kissing turned into making out. They did so for about ten minutes. A few hours later, after breaks between making out, Ashley got up and said, "Craig, I have to go."

"Okay…" Craig whined.

"Oh, fine. One more." Ashley kissed Craig softly for a minute or two. Then, she said, "I really have to go. I'll see you tomorrow morning."

"Okay," Craig said. Just as they were about to separate for the night, Craig said, "I love you, Ash." Ashley turned around and smiled at him.

"I love you, too, Craig," she said.

The Next Morning, At School

Ashley and Craig walked in through the double doors. Craig had one arm around her shoulder, and they walked to their lockers. They got their books, and Craig carried both of their books on one arm, his other again around Ashley's shoulder. As they walked, he turned his head and kissed her, and surprisingly, she kissed back. Onlookers were reminded of Alex and Jay.

Manny and Spinner watched as the two walked by. They looked at each other and kissed quickly. 'That's exactly the way it should be. Craig and Ashley, me and Spinner,' Manny thought. And she didn't want it any other way. Something inside her wished that she'd never done what she did with Craig.

THE END. Mmmkay, if that was a bad ending, tell me and I'll make an alternate one. Yes, as I said, wasn't Craig/Manny. Haha! Hmmm… 2,000 words. Interesting. Read and Review. Thank you! I love you all! Bye.


End file.
